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It’s Fight Time in Bangkok

By Caleb Bennett April 24, 2012 1:00 pmApril 24, 2012 1:00 pm

Ian Allen

On a recent trip to Thailand, my fourth since 2000, I was fortunate to have some new adventures. One of the highlights was getting to see the national sport, the martial arts discipline known as muay Thai, firsthand and up close.

The scene paints itself quite easily. Thailand’s best fighters have come together at night in a modest but jam-packed and well-known stadium in Bangkok. They seem to get bigger and more experienced in each successive match. Their bouts are accompanied by a soundtrack of Sarama and the rhythmic chanting of their supporters whenever they strike an opponent. The crowd buzzes with bet-making. Other than the legitimate tsunami scare we experienced during our island visit — not a threat to be taken lightly — this was one of the more intense things I’ve been through in Thailand.

My travel companion, Ian Allen, happens to be a photographer, and he too was impressed by muay Thai’s energy, especially when he found himself among the crowds and backstage with the fighters. But with his medium-format point-and-shoot camera, and by seeing the scene in black and white, he was able to capture some of the more intimate moments amidst the chaos. Here’s a selection of his pictures.

Bruce Grierson wrote this week’s cover story about Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist who has conducted experiments that involve manipulating environments to turn back subjects’ perceptions of their own age.Read more…